Henry's wasn't the only award for "Beasts." His director, the New Orleans-based filmmaker Benh Zeitlin, won the critics group's New Generation Award, as well as the prize for best score, which he shared with Dan Romer.

Although the past couple of years have seen the Los Angeles Film Critics Association recognize bigger Hollywood productions (such as "The Descendants" and "The Social Network," named best picture in 2011 and 2010, respectively), it is known as a group that appreciates artier fare more than other critical groups. It lived up to that reputation Sunday. Not only did it honor "Beasts," but it also broke with the pack to name the foreign-language drama "Amour" and director Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" as the best films of the year.

Director Michael Haneke's "Amour" -- which also took home top honors at the Cannes Film Festival in May -- was named best film by the critics group. Its star, Emmanuelle Riva, also won best-actress honors, in a tie with Jennifer Lawrence of "Silver Linings Playbook." Anderson's "The Master" -- in addition to being named runner-up for best picture -- won four awards in total, for best director (Anderson), best actor (Joaquin Phoenix), supporting actress (Amy Adams) and production design (David Crank and Jack Fisk).

To this point in award season, Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" and Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" seemed to be building more Oscar momentum than most other films. But "Lincoln" was shut out entirely by the L.A. critics. Bigelow's film was recognized as runner-up for best director and best film editing.

The full list of honorees from Sunday's Los Angeles Film Critics Association's 2012 awards follows.

The next big dates on Hollywood's awards calendar are Wednesday (Dec. 11), which will see the Screen Actors Guild announce its nominations, and Thursday (Dec. 12), which will bring the Golden Globe nominations announcements. Oscar nominations follow on Jan. 10.